Wilber Rafael Garces Perez
Role at the time: Person shot by the ICE officer, speaking by phone from immigration custody
Statement summary
Garces Perez, speaking by phone at a news conference from ICE custody, said an unmarked SUV struck his car twice before he realized his pursuers were immigration officers, that he asked an agent if he could stop somewhere safer than under a freeway overpass, and that he was shot in the back after the agent refused.
“He asked officers if he could stop somewhere safer than in traffic under the freeway; he said an agent refused, then he felt one shot to his back.”
The Texas Tribune's detailed account of Garces Perez's version of events: an unmarked SUV sideswiped him twice before he realized it was ICE; he did a U-turn under a freeway; he asked to stop somewhere safer than under the freeway and was refused; he was then shot. It also reports his immigration history (CBP One entry in 2024, asylum application, work permit, a missed hearing after notice went to an old address) and that hospital staff would not remove the bullet because it was too close to his spine.
Why we used this label
The case's fixed reference point is whether the officer's use of deadly force against Garces Perez was justified. His account describes attempting to find a safe place to stop, being refused, and then being shot without describing any threatening conduct on his part. This directly disputes that the shooting was justified, rather than merely disputing how it has been characterized by others.